Govt is more focused on revenue than trade facilitation — Former ANCLA Chief

FORMER President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA Prince Olayiwola Shittu, has said that government is more interested in generating revenue into its pulse than facilitating trade. Speaking to Vanguard Maritime Report, Shittu explained that the government is so security challenged that facilitating trade could be misinterpreted to be a security breach. The former ANLCA boss also said that anybody asking for trade facilitation will not get it because it is hinged in the name of security.

He stated: “You cannot have revenue generation and have trade facilitation, so if you go buy a scanner for the terminal operator to the warehouse, who maintains them. “That is the issue, the terminal operators have been given concession and they are to provide the tools of the trade, if you go to South Africa, it is the same thing. “But you know everything we do in this country, whenever it comes to the issue of money, politics must enter. A

“We need to find out who purchased the earlier scanners customs were supposed to be supervising the scanners and interpreting cargoes, but when the one per cent of Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme, CISS, was no longer coming to inspection agents and when Pre-Shipment Arrival Assessment Report, PAAR was introduced, everybody abandoned scanners. “So you can see that we are in for a long ride until we get it right. “Do not forget that the terminal operators are under the supervision of the Ministry of Transport and Customs is under the Ministry of Finance, so who takes charge, that is the problem we have at the Nigerian ports”.